Consumer Knowledge and Behavior Regarding Biotechnology and Biotechnology-Derived Food Products and Animal Feed - Wave I: Focus Groups Exploring Consumer Reactions to Educational Concepts

Appendix V

CFSAN/Biotech

Spec Concepts for Focus Groups

Regulatory Process v5

Headline: The Federal government– EPA, FDA, and USDA – ensures that genetically

modified crops are safe and that people, food, the environment, and animals are

protected.

To ensure safety:

 

• Government expert scientists keep up with research to make sure they have the most recent information on whether a GM product could affect humans, food, the environment, nearby crops, or animals.

 

• The opinion of independent academic scientists on how government experts should evaluate GM products is considered.

 

• All the public comments, and information about scientific reviews, recommendations and conclusions by government and independent scientific experts is available for the public to see.

• The public can participate in the federal oversight process by providing scientific information to regulators.

• All developers in the farm to table chain have a legal duty to market safe foods, regardless of the process by which the food is created. FDA offers a voluntary premarket consultation program for GMO plant food developers to help them meet their legal obligations.

 

• GM crops that raise environmental safety questions are monitored in controlled field testing to ensure they are safe, before the crop can be put into large scale commercial use.

 

• When warranted, parts of government continue oversight of certain GM products even after they are put into large scale commercial use.

*Draft educational messages developed for research purposes only. Not for public dissemination.

Appendix V

CFSAN/Biotech

Spec Concepts for Focus Groups

Views, v3

Headline: What are some of the views in the GMO discussion?

Copy:

One view might say…	Another view might say…	Here is some scientific context…
Bioengineered (BE) food is just an advancement on traditional breeding techniques.	Foods were not developed using laboratory-based methods until bioengineered (BE) food came along.	Laboratory methods were used to produce new food varieties well before the advent of bioengineered (BE) food.  Some traditional breeding methods rely on laboratory-based techniques.  Production of BE food relies on both new methods as well as traditional breeding techniques.
Companies perform safety studies on GMOs prior to marketing to ensure that they are safe.	The companies that make the GMO seeds are the ones verifying their safety	The companies that develop the GMOs are responsible for doing studies on the safety of GMOs. Governments have the responsibility of evaluating the studies.
Foods from GMOs currently on the market are safe.	There are questions about the safety of foods from GMOs currently on the market.	FDA has found the foods from GMOs it has evaluated are safe and lawful.  A 2016 National Academies of Science panel found that there is no higher danger to human health from eating foods from GMOs than from other foods.
BE foods are only developed by large companies.	BE foods can be developed by large companies, as well as smaller entities (small companies or universities).	While many BE foods have been developed by larger companies, some BE foods have been developed by smaller entities. An example of such a crop is a bioengineered papaya grown in Hawaii that was developed by university scientists.

*Draft educational messages developed for research purposes only. Not for public dissemination.

Appendix V

CFSAN/Biotech

Spec Concepts for Focus Groups

Different Voices, v3

Headline: Agricultural biotechnology. It means something different to everyone.

Copy:

Iowa Corn Farmer: With agricultural biotech, my seeds cost more but I still have higher profits because I lose less to pests.

Government Official: Around agricultural biotechnology products and processes, the review and vetting process is appropriate to ensure the safety of people, animals, crops and the environment.

Mother of Three: I don’t know a lot about the health implications of biotech foods and the information is confusing. Why can’t farmers grow foods the old-fashioned way, when no one had any questions about how safe their foods were?

Academic Scientist: The science around agricultural biotechnology is solid. There is a lot of evidence to consider, and it all points to agricultural biotechnology being safely used and having tremendous potential benefits.

*Draft educational messages developed for research purposes only. Not for public dissemination.